Every year the President of the United States calls all Americans to cease from work and normal occupations to give thanks to God for the many blessings we enjoy and to beseech God's blessing upon our country. In many ways, Thanksgiving is comparable to Fall festivals held the world over. Fall is a natural time to enjoy the fruits of the harvest and to ready ourselves for the challenges of winter. The President usually issues the Thanksgiving edict in the most general of terms so that Americans of all perspectives may share the holiday according to conscience.
It seems to me that we Christians should embrace this holiday whole heartedly. We believe that God has indeed blessed us. We believe it is right to give our thanks and praise to God. We believe that we should be praying for our nation and all nations. We give thanks and pray every Sunday. In other words, we are already a thanks-giving people.
Connecting Thanksgiving to our regular Sunday morning worship is helpful because it reminds us of the point of the holiday -- giving thanks to God. We want to enjoy a feast, of course. But let us not stop there. Let us be sure to give thanks. We want to be with family and friends. Let us bless God for them. We want to enjoy our religious liberty and free society. Let us pray for God's blessing upon all nations.
My hope is that we -- with our clear vision of God's goodness toward all in Christ -- would role-model the spirit of this holiday.
Having just read James 2:14-26 yesterday (ODB) I thought of those who will express their gratitude by making an extra effort to serve others this week. Have a blessed and safe Thanksgiving weekend!
The Spirit of Thanksgiving
Every year the President of the United States calls all Americans to cease from work and normal occupations to give thanks to God for the many blessings we enjoy and to beseech God's blessing upon our country. In many ways, Thanksgiving is comparable to Fall festivals held the world over. Fall is a natural time to enjoy the fruits of the harvest and to ready ourselves for the challenges of winter. The President usually issues the Thanksgiving edict in the most general of terms so that Americans of all perspectives may share the holiday according to conscience.
It seems to me that we Christians should embrace this holiday whole heartedly. We believe that God has indeed blessed us. We believe it is right to give our thanks and praise to God. We believe that we should be praying for our nation and all nations. We give thanks and pray every Sunday. In other words, we are already a thanks-giving people.
Connecting Thanksgiving to our regular Sunday morning worship is helpful because it reminds us of the point of the holiday -- giving thanks to God. We want to enjoy a feast, of course. But let us not stop there. Let us be sure to give thanks. We want to be with family and friends. Let us bless God for them. We want to enjoy our religious liberty and free society. Let us pray for God's blessing upon all nations.
My hope is that we -- with our clear vision of God's goodness toward all in Christ -- would role-model the spirit of this holiday.